Amidst the rising tension in east Ladakh along the Sino-India border, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday, 27 May, said that no one can threaten Narendra Modi's India. Prasad was addressing a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday.
On being asked about the face-off at the Line of Actual Control, he said “No one can dare to stare at Modi’s India.”
Prasad's reply on the border tension came at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping had on Tuesday ordered his military to scale up the battle preparedness, considering the worst-case scenarios and asked them to resolutely defend the country's sovereignty.
Prasad refused to elaborate on the Sino-India face-off and centred his attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi had on Tuesday demanded from the government a statement on the stand-off at the border in Ladakh and Sikkim and relations with Nepal.
The political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress was triggered by the continuing face-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh after a clash between soldiers from both sides on two occasions. According to reports, Indian and Chinese Army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh on May 5. Four days later, a face-off between the two sides was witnessed near Naku La Pass in Sikkim.
This is the first major stand-off between India and China after the Doklam episode in 2017 when Indian and Chinese forces saw a major face-off over construction of a road by China.
Prasad Attacks Rahul Over Comments on Lockdown
Prasad on Wednesday also trained guns at Gandhi over his comments on the lockdown.
“Two months ago, the PM said that the battle against coronavirus will be won in 21 days. It’s been over 60 days and the number of cases is rising rapidly. The lockdown was not able to defeat the virus. I have a question for this government - what is the plan for the future?” Gandhi had said on Tuesday.
Prasad attacked Gandhi saying that Punjab and Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power, were the first ones to impose the lockdown even before the central governments declared it.
“The first state to announce a lockdown was Punjab followed by Rajasthan. And now Maharashtra and Punjab were the first ones to extend the lockdown till 31 May, even before the meeting of chief ministers with the Prime Minister,” he said.
“Rahul Gandhi ji, you say lockdown is not the solution, then don't you explain this to your chief ministers? Or don't they listen to you, or they don't give your opinions any weightage?” he added.
(With inputs from ANI and IANS.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)